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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22590352">long way around</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/suddenlyatiger/pseuds/suddenlyatiger'>suddenlyatiger</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Teen Wolf (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Derek Definitely Has Mental Health Issues, F/M, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Derek, Sheriff Stilinski Knows About Werewolves, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Sterek endgame, The Author Doesn't Remember Most of the Canon Plot, families are complicated, general Kate Argent warning</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:22:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,608</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22590352</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/suddenlyatiger/pseuds/suddenlyatiger</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital had called, both Derek and Laura had thought for sure that it had had something to do with Peter.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>189</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>(i have no idea about the title, it's unrelated to anything)</p>
<p>This is another story I've had kicking around for a while and am blocked on. Hopefully posting it will jumpstart the creative flow somehow. Not sure where the plot is headed, it mostly came about as a 'what if' thing.</p>
<p>It's eventual Sterek, but it's a slow-burn. </p>
<p>(also I have no idea how the adoption process or abandoned baby protocols work soooooooo... I have no idea how a lot of things work)</p>
<p>tw for Chapter 1: miscarriage and two broken people not handling things well</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div>
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>Laura puts the receiver down softly, but Derek knows that she's angry. Even if he couldn't sense it, he can tell just by the rigid set of her shoulders and the tightness of her jaw. He opens his mouth, unsure of exactly what he's going to say, but sure that he has to say something.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"We have to go get it." Of course, what he comes out with is one of the worst things he could've said.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Go get it?" Laura asks, voice like ice.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Well, we can't just leave it there, Laura," Derek says. "It's family."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Family," Laura says, and Derek feels the sudden urge to run and hide under his bed. "More important than the family you let DIE BECAUSE YOU WERE OUT THERE MAKING A NEW ONE WITH KATE FUCKING ARGENT?!" Her eyes shine Alpha red and Derek can't fight the urge to bare his neck to her in submission.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"It wasn't like that," he tries, weakly.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Oh no," Laura says nastily. "I'll bet it was real love, too." She smiles at him. It's a mean smile. "You know, when you said that it was your fault everyone was dead I honestly thought that it was just survivor's guilt talking. But now I know you were serious."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek feels his stomach drop. He'd spent months toying with the idea about what would happen if he actually told Laura the truth about what happened to their family, about how involved he actually was with their deaths. He'd thought out scenarios ranging from Laura forgiving him, all the way to Laura completely disowning him and leaving him to fend for himself. He's not sure where on his scale this will land, except that he's sure he won't be getting forgiveness any time soon.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>When Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital had called, both Derek and Laura had thought for sure that it had had something to do with Peter. He'd been in a coma for months by this point, surely he should be healed enough to start coming around by now.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Instead they'd both been blindsided with the news that a newborn baby had been abandoned on the hospital's front steps with a letter naming Derek Hale as the father. The letter had been signed <em>Kate Ashwood</em>, someone authorities have been unable to locate. Because there is no Kate Ashwood, at least, not a real one that Derek knows of.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He does know a Kate Argent, though, who Derek had known as Kate Ashwood until after it was too late. So had Laura.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>It's Laura's final decision to put the baby up for adoption.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I'm not bringing an <em>Argent </em>into our home!" she snaps when Derek protests. "Not after what they've done!"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Then I'll do it myself!" Derek cries. "I'll find a new place. I don't need you!"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I am your Alpha!" Laura declares. "You won't be able to do anything without me. Besides, you're just a kid. Do you really think they'll hand the kid over to you just for showing up?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek's honestly not sure what would happen if he showed up to take the baby himself. He knows he's just a kid, but that's <em>his </em>baby. His family. Probably the only family he has now that doesn't hate him. He doesn't know what he's going to do about this whole mess, but he needs time.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek is out of time.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He hears Laura on the phone to the hospital, telling whoever is on the other end to place the baby up for adoption; that a letter alone isn't enough to prove paternity, and Derek won't be contesting anything or going in for any tests.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>It's very early morning, not even light out yet, and Derek is pretty sure that Laura thinks he's asleep. Or maybe she knows that he's awake and listening and doing it on purpose to hurt him. Either way, he knows he has a very small window of opportunity to try to fix all this. He'll have to do it behind Laura's back, and he still doesn't know where he's going to actually take the baby, but he has to do something or there won't even be a baby to take.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek waits until just after dawn before he leaves his and Laura's tiny apartment. Laura is sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal when he leaves. They don't say anything to each other, though Derek is pretty sure she knows what he's up to. That she doesn't try to stop him is worrying, but he puts it out of his mind for now.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>New York City is a great place for being invisible, and it's easy to get lost in the crush of the crowd. Even at this early hour the sidewalks and streets aren't empty. Derek still has to dodge pedestrians as he runs down the sidewalks and alleys. He needs to find a payphone.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He eventually finds an empty phone booth somewhere, he doesn't know where he is by this point, and immediately lunges for it. He's pretty sure he looks half-wild and insane. Definitely desperate. His chest is heaving and his hands are shaking as he feeds change into the phone. He has to look up the number for Beacon Hills Memorial, and every second that goes by just has him winding tighter and tighter. He's nearing the end of his rope when the call finally connects.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Beacon Hills Memorial reception desk, how may I direct your call?" The voice on the other end of the line is clear and soothing, and probably way too chipper for the early hour. But Derek has no time for pleasantries.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"My name is Derek Hale," he says. "There was a baby dropped off there a few days ago. My sister called and said to adopt it out, but I don't want that. I need someone to keep the baby there until I can come get it."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I... Okay, hold on, I'll transfer you upstairs." The hold music is peppy and cheerful and makes Derek want to tear his hair out. He has to work on calming himself down before he goes full beta-shift in a phone box on a somewhat crowded New York City street. He can already see a faint blue glow in his reflection on the phone booth's glass wall and he shuts his eyes.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Hello, Derek?" It's a different voice that answers this time. "This is Lisa Olsen, I'm a nurse on the maternity ward. Um... about your son."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>A son! This is the first time Derek's heard anything about the baby other than the fact of his existence. It just serves to make the whole thing all the more real for him. <em>His son!</em> But he can hear something in the nurse's voice that lets him know that this conversation won't end well for him. He physically braces himself against the walls of the phone booth.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Please tell me he's still there," he says in a near whimper.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I'm so sorry," Lisa Olsen says. "You just missed him. There was a family already here, waiting for a go-ahead to take him home. He's already gone." Derek slams the receiver down, cracking the phone. He drops to his knees in the phone booth and starts sobbing for the first time since he came to New York.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek doesn't return to the apartment until later that evening. He's been crying on and off all day, so his eyes are still red-rimmed and puffy.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>It had gotten him a few sympathetic glances as he'd wandered aimlessly around the city (also a few suspicious glances, truth be told), but he'd mostly ignored them.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>There is barely any reaction from Laura when Derek passes her on the couch on his way to his bedroom. Neither of them speak to each other for the rest of the night.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek doesn't get out of bed for a whole week.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>When he finally exits his room for anything longer than a quick trip to the bathroom, he's quiet and subdued. He fixes himself a bowl of cereal, the only food he's eaten all week that hadn't been stale crackers, and eats it mechanically at the kitchen table. Laura is sitting next to him eating toast, but he doesn't acknowledge her, even as he sees her glancing at him in his peripheral vision.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>They don't talk.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>When Derek is finished he goes back to his room and strips his bed. He's not alright, but he knows he needs to find something to do with himself. What's done is done, and he can't turn back time. This isn't the first time he's wished he could.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The pain of never getting to meet his baby, even if he is part Argent, settles over his heart alongside all the other hurts. Just another bad thing that happened that's his fault.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>After that whole week in bed he's managed to convince himself that the baby is definitely better off without him. Derek kills everything he touches, his baby is better off spared that.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>His heart still cries out for his lost family; each member he lost in the fire, Peter comatose in his hospital bed, Laura who hates him now (as she well should, he supposes), and his son who will have better luck raised by people who aren't as damaged as him. Derek pushes it all down deep and resolves to ignore it. There's nothing else for it except to keep moving on.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>What else can he do at this point?</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Laura and Derek are in New York for nearly six years.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>They were desperate and clinging to each other when they first arrived, but their relationship has been permanently damaged by the revealed secret of Derek's betrayal.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>They rely on each other to get by and to fulfill their pack needs, but they are no longer close.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Sometimes they talk about the family they lost. Their parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and cousins. Sometimes there is physical comfort in brief hugs and shoulder pats. Sometimes there are tears, mostly from Laura.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Neither of them ever mentions the baby, though Derek never stops thinking about him.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The only time it ever comes up is four years after that initial call, when Laura finds out she's pregnant. The man she'd been seeing dumps her when he finds out, and then disappears. Laura doesn't mind, she'd been worried about letting him in on the werewolf secret, and now she won't have to. She starts making plans about how she's going to raise the baby on her own, looking for ways to rearrange her life so that this new baby will fit into it.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>When Derek sees this he's hit with a wave of jealousy and anger so strong that he has to leave the apartment for a while. He spends a few nights sleeping in the back room of the bar he works at, until he's sure that he can go back and be around Laura without wanting to take out all his rage and pain on her.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>It's not the only time he has to leave the apartment. The day Laura brings home some tiny baby clothes is the day Derek nearly tears the front door off its hinges on his way out.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Laura ends up miscarrying about a month later. Derek wakes up one night to the smell of blood and the sound of Laura crying. He finds her in the bathroom, naked from the waist down and sobbing. The toilet seat is covered in blood.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek surveys the scene calmly, not even reacting when Laura turns to him with tear-filled eyes and a quivering lip.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Derek," she gasps brokenly. She reaches a hand out to him, but he backs away, returning to his room and shutting the door behind himself. He stares blankly into the darkness of the room, listening to Laura crying down the hall.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He thinks he should feel something right now. He doesn't feel anything. He briefly wonders if that makes him the bad person he always knew he was deep down. He goes back to sleep.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Laura is pale and red-eyed at the kitchen table when Derek wakes up the next morning. She catches his eye when he stops in the kitchen doorway. The smell of blood still lingers in the air, but it's mostly overpowered by the smell of bleach.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I had to flush it down the toilet," Laura says. "It was easiest that way." Derek doesn't say anything. He's suddenly struck with the thought that he absolutely doesn't care. About Laura, her baby, about anything really. He's pretty sure this isn't healthy, but he doesn't really care about that either.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Can you please say something?" She asks. Derek shrugs his shoulders.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I don't know what you want me to say," he says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He leaves the apartment. He's barefoot and still wearing his sleep clothes. He can hear Laura crying as he goes.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He doesn't care about those things either.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek is 22 when Laura tells him that she needs to go back to Beacon Hills. She doesn't ask him to go with her; he doesn't offer. He doesn't go to the airport to see her off, doesn't even know which day she's leaving until he comes home from work one day to a note left in the apartment.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Their relationship has deteriorated quite a bit by this point. Big and little things had kept piling onto it and neither of them had tried to repair any of it. There is a lot less anger these days; mostly they're apathetic towards one another. They only really come together on full moons and on the anniversary of the fire, but they otherwise keep to themselves and have separate lives.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>They don't talk about the babies.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek has trouble looking Laura in the eye most days, for a variety of reasons. He misses the close relationship he used to have with her, but he figures that they're both too far gone to get that closeness back.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>One afternoon, a searing pain in his chest brings him to his knees and he knows for sure that he'll never get that closeness back no matter what.</p>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>so my main plan for this fic is that it's going to follow along the basic plot of season 1 (with some changes, natch), though the whole fic in in Derek's POV and I can't remember exactly how season one went so make of that what you will.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div>
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>Beacon Hills looks exactly the same six years later as it had when Derek had first left.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He's not sure how to feel about that.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The first thing he does when he arrives in town is find out where Laura had been staying. He tracks her scent to a motel just outside of town. He finds their father's old Camaro in the parking lot and her room empty. There are no signs of foul play in the room or the car so he quickly moves on.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He finds Laura in the preserve.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Half of her, anyway.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Her face is frozen in shock and her wide, dead eyes stare straight up at Derek.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Accusingly, he feels.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek feels tears burn his eyes for the first time in who knows how long. He hasn't been on good terms with Laura in years, but he never wanted this. He lets loose a load roar and punches a hole through a nearby tree. Then he drops to his knees and breathes heavily for a few minutes. There's something white among the fallen leaves and Derek grabs it. It's an inhaler. He stares at it for a bit before absently sticking it in the pocket of his jacket. Maybe it's a clue? Something to think further on later, maybe.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He collects himself after a bit and picks himself up off the ground. He knows what he has to do now.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He removes his shirt and jacket and uses the shirt to gather up Laura's remains. His leather jacket slung over one shoulder and his sister a dead weight in his arms, Derek starts walking. It's not that far to his house from here.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek spends that night in the burnt-out remains of his childhood home decidedly not sleeping. He plants himself in a sooty corner of what was once the living room and stares at the far wall as he waits for daylight. Though he's not entirely sure what he's going to do when that happens.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Laura - her top half, anyway - is now buried next to the house under a wolfsbane spiral. Peter is still in a coma at the hospital. Derek's son is out there somewhere and out of Derek's reach. Derek is truly alone now, no family left, and he doesn't know what to do with himself. He's heard the stories of what happens to lone wolves: they don't last long. It's probably the main reason he and Laura had stuck it out together for so long after everything; no other options.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He must doze off at some point, because he jerks awake when his cell phone rings.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He's immediately on alert. He has no friends, no family (anymore), and he'd quit his job before coming to California. There shouldn't be anyone who knows his phone number. He cautiously accepts the call, but doesn't speak.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Hello?" It's a man's voice. "Derek Hale?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The voice is somewhat familiar, but Derek doesn't recognize it.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Hello?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Yes." Derek's voice is a bit hoarse, and he has to clear his throat. "What is it?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"This is Sheriff John Stilinski from Beacon Hills, do you have a minute?" Ah, the town sheriff. Derek can't put a face to the name, but it might be why he finds the voice familiar, although he doesn't remember the sheriff's name being Stilinski. Both Derek and Laura had spent a significant amount of time dealing with the police after the fire. Sheriff John Stilinski might have been on the force at the time in a different position.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Is this about Laura?" Derek asks. There's a beat of silence.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Yes, this is about Laura," Sheriff Stilinski says. "I understand that she's your older sister and that you are currently living with her in New York. Can you tell me the last time you saw her?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>
        <em>She was staring at me last night while I buried her torso in the front yard of my old home that I technically helped to set on fire when I was a teenager.</em>
      </p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"A few days ago," Derek says. "She told me that she was going to Beacon Hills, but I haven't heard from her since she left so I came down to look for her."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"You're in town now?" the sheriff asks, sounding surprised.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I got in yesterday," Derek says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Oh, uh, that's good, I guess," the sheriff says. "Would it be possible for you to come by the station as soon as you can? We have some things to discuss, and I'd rather not do it over the phone." Derek looks down at himself, he's disheveled and covered in dirt and soot and blood. He definitely looks like a man who's just dug a grave and has been sleeping rough, not a good look for showing up at a police station.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I'll be there in an hour," he says, and ends the call.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>After a quick trip to the local Wal-Mart and the free showers at the gym, Derek walks into the police station looking more presentable then he probably has the right to.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The sheriff spots him as soon as he walks in and immediately leads Derek over to his office.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek gets a good look at the sheriff's face and thinks he recognizes him. He vaguely remembers a deputy on the scene of the fire, one who had stuck with him and Laura when they'd both refused to leave the property while fire fighters searched the burning Hale house for survivors. Sheriff Stilinski was also the same deputy who'd driven them to the station after they'd gotten word that there were no survivors left to find after they'd pulled out a very badly burned Peter Hale.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Have a seat," Stilinski says as Derek enters the office. Stilinski closes the office door while Derek eases himself into the seat in front of Stilinski's desk. Among all the files and general office detritus on the desk, Derek's senses zero in on a lumpy manila envelope resting against a laptop computer. It has Laura's scent all over it and Derek feels his throat tighten because he knows that it's a scent he eventually will never smell ever again.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Stilinski walks past Derek to get to the desk and Derek picks up on a different scent. It's faint, and it's familiar to him, somehow, but still strange. It also smells of wolf. The sheriff himself isn't a werewolf, but he's close to someone who is. Derek pushes that fact to the back of his mind when the sheriff picks up the Laura-scented manila envelope from his desk. He wordlessly hands the envelope over to Derek, who lets it rest in his lap unopened.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I need to see your eyes," the sheriff announces. Derek looks up at him, confused.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"My... eyes?" He asks. Stilinski can see his eyes; they're both making eye contact right now.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>
        <span>"I need to know what </span>
        <span>colour</span>
        <span> they are," Stilinski says.</span>
      </p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Green?" Derek asks. Really, they're closer to hazel, but it says 'green' on his driver's license so that's what he's going with. He's not sure what importance that would have for Stilinski though.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"No, no," Stilinski says, shaking his head. "Laura was your Alpha, right? I need to know if you inherited her power after she died." Derek jerks back in his seat before he can stop himself, stunned. His family being werewolves had been a well-kept secret when he was young and he knows for a fact that they hadn't had anyone in the know at the police station at the time, especially not a random deputy. Derek's shock soon turns into suspicion.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Who are you?" He asks, the edge of a growl in his voice. The sheriff leans back against the desk and raises both hands in the universal gesture for 'I come in peace'.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Whoa there," he says. "I come by this knowledge honestly; my son's a werewolf. I know about your family being werewolves, and I know that Laura became your Alpha after your mother died. I know you know she's already dead. I just need to know where her Alpha power went."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I didn't kill her," Derek spits.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I know, son," Stilinski says softly. "But I need to know what happened to the Alpha power if it didn't go to you. She was killed by a... you know." He waves a hand around vaguely. Derek nods. Her body was cut in half, which usually meant hunters were involved, but that meant that the Alpha power should've transferred to him as the next in line. Derek is still a Beta, so that means that Laura was killed by a werewolf.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I should've gotten the Alpha power after Laura's death," Derek says, letting his eyes flash blue. "I'm next in line." Stilinski nods.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Blue for Beta?" He asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Blue for Hale Betas," Derek corrects him. "Some of the really old families have different eye colours for their born Betas, otherwise they're gold." A strange look crosses over Stilinski's face, one that Derek can't really read.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"This is the first time I'm hearing about this," he says. Derek shrugs and looks down at the envelope in his lap, Stilinski gestures to it. "That's the stuff we found in Laura's pockets. We could only identify her by her driver's license. Her body'd been cut in half and we only found the, y'know, bottom."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek doesn't say anything about burying the top half of the body in his yard. That's none of Stilinski's business. He clutches the envelope tightly in one hand and gets up from the chair.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Are there any werewolves or hunters in the area?" Derek asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"The only werewolves I'm aware of are my son and your uncle, neither of which are really in any position to be out tearing people in half in the woods," Stilinski says. "As for hunters..." He looks down and frowns. "The Argent family is back in town." Derek's entire body goes cold and he has to make an effort to lock his knees in place to avoid falling back into his chair. Stilinski watches him closely and Derek avoids his gaze.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Who." It's not a question. Argent isn't exactly a common name, but Derek needs to know specifics about who he's dealing with right now.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Chris Argent and his family," Stilinski says. "I have to ask: do you think it's a coincidence that the both the Argents and your sister returned to Beacon Hills at the same time?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Laura didn't tell me why she was coming back, just that she was," Derek says. Stilinski nods.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Are you planning on sticking around?" He asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I need to know what happened to Laura."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek opens Laura's envelope in the parking lot of the police station. Inside is her wallet and the keys to the Camaro. He shoves them in the pockets of his leather jacket and tosses the envelope into a nearby trashcan. He sets off on foot to the hotel where Laura had been staying. He checks out of the room and drives the Camaro to the remains of his childhood home.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>It's late afternoon when Derek hears the sounds of two people in the preserve. He'd spent the whole day inside the Camaro, surrounding himself with Laura's scent. The Camaro had been in storage since the fire, so there are even faint traces of his family's scents in the upholstery. Soon, his will be the only scent in the car. He's not looking forward to it.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The two people sound like they're getting closer, and also coming in his direction. Derek gets out of the Camaro and starts walking, hoping to head them off. Whoever they are, they aren't even trying to be quiet. They're talking loudly and trampling through fallen leaves and underbrush and it isn't hard for Derek to track them down.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek is silent as he moves through the woods and he catches sight of the wanderers near the edge of the Hale property line. It's two teenage boys and they don't seem to notice Derek at first; which is a bit odd because Derek can tell that one of them is a wolf. The other boy is human, but Derek can smell wolf on him from where he's standing. He also recognizes a bit of the sheriff's scent on him. Are these two the sheriff's sons?</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>One of the boys has long, floppy hair and a hoodie, and is raking his hands through the leaves on the ground and muttering something about an inhaler. Derek suddenly remembers the inhaler he shoved in his pocket when he found Laura's body. It's still in there, and he shoves a hand in his pocket to grab it. It must be this movement that suddenly alerts the other boy, with a buzzcut and pale skin, to his presence.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"This is private property," Derek declares. It's the first thing he can think of.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Sorry, dude, we didn't know," the boy with the buzzcut says. "We're just looking for something." The other boy stops messing with the leaves and stands up. Derek pulls the inhaler from his jacket pocket and throws it at him and the boy catches it easily. Then he glares at the two of them until they leave.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Dude! That was Derek Hale!" He hears one of them say as they disappear out of sight among the trees. Derek turns and heads back to the house.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
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    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>The inhaler he'd found by Laura's body is the only lead Derek has, so he has no choice but to look into it as best he can.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The two boys he'd come across in the preserve turn out to not both belong to the sheriff. The boy with the buzzcut, who Derek hears referred to as Stiles Stilinski, is the sheriff's son. He smells of the sheriff and of a wolf who is not the floppy haired boy that was with him in the woods. The other boy is Scott McCall and, from conversations Derek heard while he was hanging around school grounds listening in, he's a newly-turned wolf.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>'Newly-turned' as in literally just been turned within the past few days. Derek overhears Stiles trying to convince him that werewolves are real and that Scott is now one, but Scott doesn’t believe him. And then Derek overhears Scott talking about new student Allison Argent and his crush on her, and he suddenly sees red.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He knows of Allison. Knows that she's Kate's niece. Kate had spoken about her to Derek a few times, back when Derek knew her as Kate Ashwood. He knows that Allison's father is Chris, but he doesn't actually know the man, really only by sight.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He doesn't know if Allison is anything like her aunt; doesn't know if she's the type to try to take advantage of a kid like Scott. Doesn't even know what she knows. What he does know, however, is that the Argent family doesn't look kindly on werewolves, and that they aren't safe.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek decides not to approach the boys, especially not on school grounds, and especially not when there is a hunter in the area with a daughter at the same school. Instead he gets into the Camaro and heads for the police station to talk to the sheriff.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Sheriff Stilinski isn't at the station when Derek arrives, and the officer at the front desk won't tell him anything other than to try again tomorrow. Derek can't wait until tomorrow.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Following the Stilinski kid home from school feels just as creepy in practice as he imagined it would when he first thought of it. He doesn't know the sheriff's scent well enough to track him that way, so this is his best bet. He takes the Camaro back to his old home and leaves it there while he walks to the school on foot through the woods. He waits among the trees for school to let out, and then he ends up having to wait longer for lacrosse practice to end.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Being stuck watching the practice isn't a complete waste. It's easy to pick out Scott McCall on the field; seemingly doing the bare minimum to hide his new abilities and talents. Derek can sense the confusion from the other players from where he's hiding in the woods.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek is also quick to spot the sheriff's son, who spends most of the practice either on the bench or tripping over his own feet. Either way, from what Derek can tell, he doesn't seem at all surprised or confused at McCall's skills. Mostly he seems either excited or frustrated depending on what McCall actually does.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek knows that he's going to have to properly introduce himself to McCall at some point. Someone has to teach him how to tone things down a bit so that he won't draw attention to himself and risk the wrath of hunters. That wouldn't end well for either him or Derek.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek moves closer to the building when lacrosse practice ends and the boys start heading inside. He keeps to the edge of the property and finds a hiding place near the parking lot. It isn't long until Stilinski and McCall emerge from the building. They both seem excited about something and they're heading towards a hideous blue Jeep near the edge of the parking lot.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Stilinski is talking about a mile a minute, hands and arms waving everywhere. It soon becomes clear that they aren't talking about going home. They're talking about heading to the preserve to keep looking for the body. For Laura's body. Then they start talking about him, which is when he decides to make his move.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The two boys jump when he suddenly appears from the other side of the Jeep. He ignores McCall for the moment and focuses on Stilinski.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I need to talk to your father," Derek says. "You're going to take me to him."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I'm not really supposed to give rides to creepy men I meet in the woods," Stilinski says, a sarcastic edge to his voice even though Derek can hear his heart nearly beating out of his chest. Derek narrows his eyes at him, and then flashes them blue. McCall jumps away in shock, but Stilinski just goes still. His heart is still beating too quick to be normal, but he steps closer to Derek.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I knew it," he says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I need to talk to your father," Derek says again.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Dude, my dad probably needs to talk to you," Stilinski says, then he points to his Jeep. "Get in."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"WHAT?!" McCall squawks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"You too, Scotty!" Stilinski exclaims, throwing himself into the driver's seat. "Now you'll see that I'm right about your furry little problem. Get in." McCall, mouth gaping open and shut like a fish, does as he's told and gets into the front passenger seat while Derek climbs into the back seat.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>McCall doesn't stop glancing wide-eyed from Stilinski to Derek the whole ride. Stilinski doesn't look at either of them, just babbles the whole time about werewolves and hunters and see-Scott-I-told-you-so.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"But werewolves aren't even real, Stiles!" McCall whines at one point.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Dude! You're a werewolf, and there's another one in the back seat <em>right now</em>!"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"This is insane," McCall says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"You'll get used to it," Stilinski says. It's not long before he's pulling into a driveway, behind the sheriff's police cruiser. Derek exits the Jeep, not listening to Stilinski and McCall's back and forth about werewolves and dog bites and other things. He looks up at the house. He focuses and hears two heartbeats coming from inside. One of them is quicker than the other and very quickly approaching the front door.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He hears "Bailey, wait!" in the sheriff's voice before the front door is thrown open.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"STILES!"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>It's the scent that hits Derek first. The scents that Derek now recognize as belonging to Sheriff Stilinski and Stiles, the scent of a born wolf, the scent of <em>family</em>. He's staring at the boy when the boy turns to him. Staring at his dark hair, slightly tanned skin, hazel eyes. Derek's mother's eyes, Derek's own eyes. The eyes briefly flash blue and Derek's breath catches.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Derek? Oh hell." The sheriff is the last thing he hears before everything turns to static.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek blinks and he's sitting on a couch in someone's living room.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Everything's quiet around him except for the heartbeat of the sheriff, coming from where the man is sitting perched on a low coffee table in front of Derek.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"You're still a bit pale," the sheriff says when Derek catches his eye.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"What?" He asks, stupidly. His mind is still a bit foggy and he shakes his head to clear it. Everything around him is too quiet and it's a bit unnerving.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I sent the boys out," the sheriff says. "I don't want them to hear this."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"They wanted to go to the preserve," Derek says, still catching up. "They wanted to look for Laura's body." The sheriff drags his hand down his face and swears.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"That would be Stiles' idea," he says. "I found him in the woods the night we got the report about the body. I don't think he knows it's Laura though. Sorry about that."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Stiles isn't a werewolf," Derek says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"No, he isn't," the sheriff says. "My youngest is. Born werewolf. I adopted him when he was a newborn."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"You don't know where he came from?" Derek asks. But Derek doesn't need to hear it from the sheriff; he already knows. There's no mistaking the boy's scent. And the eyes, either colour. And he looks like the right age.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"He was dropped off at the hospital," the sheriff says. "With a note, signed by a Kate Ashwood." Derek closes his eyes, somewhat surprised to feel them burning. Laura is still gone, Peter is still comatose, but his son may just be within reach.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"A note naming me as the father," Derek says. The sheriff nods. "I called the hospital, after Laura did. Laura told them to adopt him out, he was gone by the time I could get to a phone."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I'm sorry, Derek," the sheriff says. "We couldn't find Kate Ashwood, and we couldn't get to you to prove paternity. Not that you could've, I suppose, not with the whole werewolf thing. I'm told it's genetic."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"He was probably better off with a real family," Derek says. "It was just Laura and me in New York, and we weren't on good terms once she found out about the baby... where he came from."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Do you know where Kate Ashwood is?" The sheriff asks. "We looked and we couldn't find her. The closest we found was a Katherine Ashwood, who was 60 years old at the time and living in Colorado."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Kate Argent was a substitute teacher at the school that year," Derek says. "Ashwood was the name she was using." The sheriff shakes his head.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Her name would've come up when we'd done the initial search," he says. "If she was using the name Ashwood she was using it informally."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Well," Derek says. "She was the only I was having sex with at the time."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"The teacher?!" The sheriff exclaims. Derek opens his mouth and then closes it. He clenches his hands into fists and leans forward on his elbows. He looks the sheriff in the eye.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"What do you know about the fire?" He asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I know that it was classified as accidental," the sheriff says. "And I know that I never once believed that. Especially not after I found out that my son, who was possibly a Hale, was a werewolf."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I read some of the articles that came out," Derek says, looking down. "They all said that the cause of the fire turned out to be faulty wiring. Also that all the bodies were found in the basement, which everyone found weird because why would anyone go into the basement of a burning house instead of running out, right?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"You know the fire wasn't accidental," the sheriff says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"When I was fifteen," Derek says, "we got a new substitute teacher. She said her name was Kate Ashwood. She- I- We... there was a relationship. A sexual one. A romantic one too, for me. I thought she felt the same way, but she didn't. I only found out when it was too late, after the fact, that she was only using me to get information."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"And you're saying that she was actually Kate Argent?" The sheriff asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"She told me so herself, after it was too late for me to do anything. I never thought to doubt her at all. I never even thought it was strange that a grown woman would be interested in someone like me. I was fifteen and her student. I didn't even know anything was going on. She never even mentioned werewolves once, you know? That was about the only thing I didn't mention. I told her everything else. Everyone's schedules, the cool secrets about the house... when everyone was most likely to be in the house.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Laura and I were supposed to be in the house too that night. We'd both snuck out. Laura was going to hang out with friends. I was actually sneaking out to go see Kate. She'd told me that she'd be leaving town soon, and I wanted to spend more time with her. I was such an idiot."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Derek..." The sheriff has both hands clasped in front of his mouth, Derek can hear his heart pounding.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"She wasn't home. But she'd told me how to get into the house if she wasn't there. That's where we went most often to be together. I was sitting in her house when I felt my family die. I was still there when she got back. She smelled like burning, and death. She was surprised to see me there. I actually didn't put any of the pieces together until she actually told me herself what was really going on. Then I just ran. I haven't seen her since."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"So you didn't know anything about the baby," Stilinski says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Not until the hospital called us about him being left there," Derek says. "That was months after the fire." Stilinski slides his hands down his face.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"By then the fire had basically been ruled an accident," he says. "There were a few things that never made sense, but there wasn't really anything that pointed to murder."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Not really much of a motive without knowing about werewolves," Derek points out.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Exactly," Stilinski says. "Speaking of, what do you know about Scott being turned?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Only Alpha werewolves can turn humans," Derek says. "So either Laura turned him, or whoever killed Laura did."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Either way, there's still an unknown Alpha werewolf wandering around," Stilinski says. "Enough of a problem that it's brought the Argent family back."</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
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    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>Derek doesn't intend to stay at the Stilinski house for dinner, but the sheriff doesn't really give him a choice once he learns that Derek doesn't have anywhere else to go.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>In all honesty, Derek wants to leave before he has to face Bailey again. The son he never thought he'd ever get to see. It's all still a bit surreal and it makes him very anxious. His stress-level ratchets up a notch when he hears Stilinski's – Stiles' - Jeep pulling into the driveway.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"What are you going to tell them?" He asks, not looking up from his lap.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Who?" Stilinski, just finishing up putting in an order for pizza, asks. "The boys?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Your kids," Derek says. "About me and..."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Bailey."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"He's going to know that he has a connection to me," Derek says. "You need to decide how much you're going to tell him." Derek can't read the look that crosses Stilinski's face, but there's no real time to think on it because the front door suddenly bursts open.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Daddy! Stiles got me ice cream!" Bailey Stilinski runs into the room and jumps into the sheriff's arms; Derek absolutely doesn't look at either of them.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Well, that sure was nice of him," Stilinski declares. "Even though you both know that it'll spoil your supper."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Lies," Stiles says, entering the room with Scott cautiously trailing behind him. "You've seen what that kid can eat. Derek, you're still here!"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"He's staying for supper," Stilinski says. "I ordered some pizza."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Yay!" Bailey squeals, throwing his arms up in the air. Stilinski chuckles and then hands the little boy off to Stiles, who is making a face.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"That's not good for your diet," he says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"After the complete mess that tonight is probably going to turn into, I deserve that much," Stilinski says, dialing a number on his phone. "Melissa McCall is gonna pick it up and bring it over."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"What? Why?" Scott asks. Stilinski just gives him a look as he walks into the kitchen.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Dude, you won't be able to keep the werewolf thing a secret forever," Stiles says, "not from your mother."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Ugh," Scott says. "And what do you have to do with all this?" Derek looks up at Scott and has to resist the sudden urge to laugh hysterically. If he only knew.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Melissa McCall arrives at the house soon after and her first action, after unloading a stack of pizzas into the sheriff's arms, is to wrap Derek up in a tight hug. Derek is too confused to hug back, leaving his arms straight at his sides. Melissa lets him go and, with a final pat on his shoulder and a slightly teary-eyed look, heads off to search for her son.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"She's probably going to adopt you if you're not careful." Derek turns around to find Stiles standing behind him with a plate full of pizza slices.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"What?" Derek asks. Stiles pushes a slice of pizza into Derek's unresisting grip.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Hope you like pep and cheese," he says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"What." Stiles gestures to the slice he just handed Derek, which is, indeed, pepperoni and cheese. Stiles takes another slice off his plate and takes a huge bite out of it. Derek isn't sure what's going on right now. That's when the sheriff appears and starts herding them into the kitchen.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"At the table, boys," he says. "Bailey can't eat in the living room so neither can you."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"That's how fair works!" Bailey chirps around a mouthful of pizza.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Don't talk with your mouth full, sweetheart," Mrs McCall says. Derek walks into the kitchen in time to see her wipe some sauce from Bailey's face. Derek decides to avoid the table and leans against a kitchen counter to eat. He quickly finishes his slice of pizza and Stiles is handing him another one before he has a chance to react.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"So," the sheriff says, wiping his hands with a paper napkin. "Werewolves." Derek sees Mrs McCall shoot a quick look at Scott before turning to the sheriff.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"John?" She asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"There's been an... incident," Stilinski says. Mrs McCall turns fully in her chair to face Scott, who is sitting on her other side with a mouthful of food.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"No," she breathes. Derek can hear her heartbeat going crazy and he can feel her emotions go sour. Bailey must sense something as well, because he gets up on his knees on his chair and starts patting Mrs McCall's shoulder.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"It's okay, Miss," he says. "Scotty's a cool wolf now, just like me!"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"What happened?" Mrs McCall asks. She turns to Derek first. He finishes off the slice of pizza in his hand and then crosses his arms defensively across his chest. He flashes his eyes blue at her. She nods and turns back to the sheriff. Bailey takes advantage of her distraction and crawls into her lap.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"These two," the sheriff says, pointing at Scott and Stiles in turn, "were out in the preserve the night we got the call about the you-know-what. Turns out there was an Alpha werewolf out there too."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Oh god," Mrs McCall says. Scott reaches out and lays a hand on his mother's arm.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"It's alright," he says. "I'm fine... more or less. And I don't even think I need my inhaler anymore."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"You should've seen him at lacrosse practice," Stiles says. "Didn't even get out of breath."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"But you're definitely a werewolf?" Mrs McCall asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Apparently," Scott says. "Even though werewolves aren't even supposed to be real thing. How do you know about them, anyway?" Melissa shares a brief look with the sheriff and then they both look at Bailey, who is still sitting in Melissa's lap. Scott also looks at the boy, who shoots Scott a toothy grin. Scott whips around to look at Stiles, who is standing near Derek by the counter.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Your baby brother is a werewolf?!" He exclaims. "And you never told me? Any of you?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I'm not a baby!" Bailey cries.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I was sworn to secrecy," Stiles says. "Pretty sure the only reason they even told me was because I would've noticed something at some point."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I <em>did</em> notice something," Mrs McCall says. "Which is the only reason I know."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"And none of you said anything?" Scott asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Scott," the sheriff says. "The impression I got is that the less people who know about something like this, the better. The wrong people knowing about it could be very dangerous for everyone involved, especially Bailey. None of us were ever gonna put something like that on you if it could be helped." Scott looks down at his plate and pokes at what's left of his pizza, then he looks up at Stiles.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Were you ever gonna tell me?" He asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I dunno," Stiles says. "That's always been up to my father and Bailey. It was never my secret to tell." Scott nods absently.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"So, what happens now?" He asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Now," the sheriff says. He pushes his chair away from the table. "We start trying to figure out who bit you, then we'll move on from there."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Everyone relocates to the living room and Bailey insists on sitting next to Derek on the couch. Derek is lowkey dying as Bailey grins up at him.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"You're a wolf too," the boy declares. Stilinski sits down on Bailey's other side and shoots a look at Derek over the kid's head. Derek shoots the sheriff a quick look of his own before focusing back on Bailey.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Yeah," he croaks out an answer to the boy's question.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"He's a wolf just like you," Stiles pipes in, walking behind the couch and ruffling Bailey's hair on his way to a bean bag chair sitting nearby. "But that doesn't mean he's cooler than me."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Stiles is awesome," Bailey insists to Derek, eyes wide. "He can watch all the long Frodo movies at the same time <em>without sleeping</em>!"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I'm not sure how to feel about that being your greatest accomplishment," Stilinski says, with an amused smile at Stiles.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Proud, o father of mine," Stiles says. "You should feel proud." Stilinski rolls his eyes. Derek listens to this whole exchange with an ever-growing ache in his chest. This is the sort of familial interaction he's been missing all these years. He looks down at Bailey, who is smiling widely at Stiles, and is almost grateful that he missed the chance to get him from the hospital all those years ago. He's happy that Bailey is getting the chance to grow up in this environment, away from whatever destruction Derek would have brought on him.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He hadn't realized that he'd zoned out a bit, so he's a bit surprise when Stilinski has to tap him on the shoulder to get his attention. Derek looks up to find everyone looking at him as if waiting for something. He looks to Stilinski.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Welcome back," he says. "I was just stressing to Bailey the importance of keeping werewolves a secret."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I'm not apposed to tell anyone that I'm a werewolf," Bailey recites. "Except Daddy and Miss and Stiles and Doctor."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Doctor?" Derek asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Doctor Deaton," Stilinski says. "He's the town vet."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"My BOSS knows about all this!?" Scott exclaims from his spot next to Mrs McCall on the other couch. "Why does he know?! Who else knows?!"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Relax, Scott," Mrs McCall says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Deaton?" Derek asks. "Alan Deaton?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Yes?" Stilinski says. "He was still the vet back when you lived here. You might have met him before. He says he knew your mother."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Yeah," Derek says. "He knew all of us. He wasn't part of the pack, but he... worked with us a few times."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Is my boss a werewolf too?" Scott asks, face in his hands.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"No," Stilinski says. "He's some kind of magic-user."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Magic?!" Scott yelps.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Dude is cryptic as all get out," Stiles says. "I've asked him loads of times what he's supposed to be and never once got a straight answer out of him."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"He's a Druid," Derek says, and then shrinks into himself a bit when everyone whips around to stare at him.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"A what?" Stilinski asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"A Druid," Derek repeats. "I'm not exactly sure what it means either. Something to do with nature, I think. My parents would've known more."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Okay, it's official, now we have to keep him," Stiles announces, waving a hand in Derek's direction. "We finally have someone giving us straight answers."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"That is a nice change," Stilinski says. "And hopefully it'll be very useful for as long as Derek is willing to stay and help."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I don't know a lot," Derek says. He's almost ashamed, really. For all that he does know about the supernatural world and werewolf way of life, there is a lot of stuff that his parents never told him. Thing they'd figured that he wouldn't need to know until he got older. Now that he's older, there's no one left to tell him anything. He's not entirely sure how much help he'll be on the werewolf knowledge front, but he's willing to share what he can. Especially if it'll help make things easier for Bailey.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"The fact that you're giving us answers without a runaround is a bigger help than Deaton's ever been," Stiles says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I can't believe <em>my boss</em> is in on all this," Scott moans, slumping into the couch. Mrs McCall pats his thigh.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Bigger issues going on, sweetheart," she says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Right," Stilinski says. "The Alpha."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"What's an affa?" Bailey asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"An Alpha is the leader of a werewolf pack," Stilinski tells him. "Like the boss."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Just like Daddy is the Alpha at the police station," Stiles chimes in. "He's in charge of all the other officers and he gets to tell them what to do." It's a simplistic explanation. Derek wants to tell them that there's more to it than that, but he keeps quiet. He doesn't think there's a way he can word it that won't make it harder for Bailey to understand. Or in a way that won't scare him. He'll have to pull Stilinski and Mrs McCall aside later and let them in on a few more things.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Something like that," Stilinski says. "The problem is, this Alpha doesn't have any werewolves to lead, so he's going around turning people into werewolves without asking."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"That doesn't sound very nice," Bailey says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"It isn't," Stilinski says. "It's a very bad thing to do. And we need to find him and stop him. Derek is going to help us with that. But we'll need your help too." Bailey is turned to face Stilinski, so Derek can't see his face. He can, however, sense his growing excitement.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I get to help?" Bailey asks, nearly vibrating in place.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Yes, you do," Stilinski says. "First of all: you have to keep it a secret that Scott is a werewolf. Except for the usual people."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"You and Stiles and Miss and Doctor," Bailey recites.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Right," Stilinski says. "And Derek, now." Bailey turns his head to take a quick look at Derek, who doesn't react. "Also, and this is very important, you need to tell one of us right away if you find any new werewolves in town."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Yes," Bailey says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"And," Stilinski hesitates. "One more thing. You know how you aren't supposed to talk to strangers? Or go anywhere with them?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I don't do that!" Bailey exclaims.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I know, you're very good about that," Stilinski says. Stiles tries to hide a laugh under a fake cough at whatever expression is on Bailey's face. "Remember how I told you that you have to be extra careful because there are people who want to hurt werewolves?" Bailey nods. Derek looks away from the boy, in the direction of the empty kitchen. "Well, there are people in town right now who want to hurt werewolves. So I need you to be extra, extra careful. That means no going out alone, and no going anywhere without me or Stiles or Melissa."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Or Derek?" Bailey asks. Stilinski quickly glances at Derek over Bailey's head.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Or Derek," he says. Derek immediately rises from the couch and stalks out of the room.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek isn't sure how long he's been hanging out in Stilinski's back yard when someone comes out of the house to join him.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>It's not Stilinski or Mrs McCall, like Derek had been expecting for the past while, but Stiles.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek watches in silence, from where he's sitting on top of a plastic picnic table, as Stiles approaches him. It's dark out, but the porch light is bright enough to show Derek's location. Stiles walks right up to the table but doesn't sit down. He's taller standing so Derek has to look up at him a bit.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>It's quiet while Derek waits for Stiles to say what he came out to say. Derek can hear Stiles' rapid heartbeat and slightly rapid breathing. He can also hear Stilinski and Bailey's heartbeats inside the house, along with their conversation as Stilinski tries to put Bailey to bed. Mrs McCall and Scott seem to be gone; Derek's not sure when they left.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I, uh, I just have to ask," Stiles says. Derek stares at Stiles, who looks down. "It's..." He makes a frustrated hand gesture.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"If this is about your friend I can try to keep an eye on him until your dad finds someone else," Derek says. "No one should be turned without their consent, but it's really not the end of the world."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"It's not that," Stiles says. "But that is good to know. I've only got Bailey to go on where werewolves are concerned. Him and the internet, which is... mostly helpful. Sometimes."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Don't believe everything you read online," Derek says. "Some of it's legit, some of it's nonsense, and some of it might be bait and misinformation set up by hunters." Stiles nods and takes a deep breath.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Is the thing about the eyes real?" He asks all in one breath. Derek goes cold all over.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"The eyes," he says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Deaton's never said anything about it one way or the other, because he's a cryptic asshole," Stiles says. "But I remember reading online that werewolf Beta eyes are usually gold. Unless they're descended from an old werewolf family line with a different colour. Bailey's eyes have never been gold; they've always flashed blue. Like yours. And on top of that, his regular eye colour is the same as yours."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"That doesn't mean anything," Derek forces out.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Yes it does," Stiles insists. "It's not just the eyes either. Bailey actually looks a lot like you. And I've heard things over the years. My dad and Melissa don't always notice when I can hear them. They've said things before. About Bailey. About you. About your family. About a letter left at the hospital the day Bailey was abandoned there."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Stop."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"You're Bailey's dad, aren't you?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"No!" Derek shoves himself off the table and Stiles takes a few steps back. He doesn't back away completely though, and he doesn't turn away and go back into the house like Derek wishes he would.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"You are," Stiles insists. There's a tremor in his voice that Derek can barely pick up on. Stiles is afraid and definitely trying to hide it.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I'm not," Derek says. "Your dad is Bailey's dad. You're his brother. You both are his family. I'm no one."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Derek," Stiles says. There's a tone in his voice that Derek doesn't like, and he doesn't give Stiles time to expand on that thought.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I have no place in Bailey's life," he says, not looking at Stiles. "He deserves a family who will love him and keep him safe, and a lot of other things that I can't give him. I won't be sticking around once I find out what happened to my sister, and I won't be back. Bailey won't remember me after I leave."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Is that really what you want?" Stiles asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"It doesn't matter what I want," Derek says quietly. "All that matters is that Bailey is taken care of. Does your dad know that you know?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I don't think so," Stiles says. "He hasn't said anything to me about it." Derek nods and lets a silence fall between them.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"You know," Stiles says slowly, after a few minutes. "You don’t <em>have </em>to leave town."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"About Allison Argent," Derek suddenly says. The complete subject change seems to throw Stiles for a loop. His mouth opens and closes uselessly for a few seconds as he searches for a response.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Obvious subject change is obvious," he mutters. "Yes, Allison. What about her?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"She comes from a hunting family," Derek says. "Keep Bailey away from her. Tell Scott to leave her alone. Don't give her any reason to suspect anything." Stiles locks eyes with Derek and nods. Derek nods back then turns and leaves the yard.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I think the two guys who got burned in the preserve happened later in the season than I'm putting it here, but I really don't remember much about the timeline anyway so we'll call it artistic license</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
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      <p>Derek spends the rest of the night on high alert; keeping his senses attuned to his surroundings and barely sleeping.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Early in the morning, once the sun is up, he heads over to the hospital to visit Peter.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The long-term care ward is pretty quiet. Derek doesn't see many people walking around as a nurse leads him to Peter. Peter's room is just as quiet as the hallway, if not more muffled. It all makes Derek very uneasy. He hasn't seen Peter in person since just before he and Laura left for New York. Back then, Peter had been wrapped up in bandages and kept asleep. It hadn't been easy to see him like that, especially when Derek knew it was all his own fault.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>It's really not any better now, even though Peter looks conscious and is sitting up. But no matter where Derek moves in the room, Peter's gaze remains blank and doesn't follow him, remaining fixed at some random point in the distance. Also he's not exactly sitting up in his chair – which is a wheelchair, Derek is quick to notice – rather he's slouched in it, not holding his own weight.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek can't make up his mind on whether or not that's worse than the scarring running down one side of Peter's face (and possibly lower, underneath his clothes where Derek can't see). Werewolves don't typically scar; this is the first time Derek's ever seen it.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He can't stand to be in the room any longer and leaves after a few minutes. He doesn't wait for a nurse to lead him out, just follows his senses to the exit.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>It's still early morning when he gets back to his house (or, what's left of it). So he's surprised to find Stiles' blue Jeep parked in front of it. Derek parks his Camaro alongside it and gets out. He can't see Stiles anywhere, but he can hear a heartbeat coming from inside the house.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek stays as quiet as he can as he exits the car and moves towards the house. Stiles exits just as Derek makes it to the front porch steps.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Je-HEEZUS!" Stiles shouts, flailing back through the door when he spots Derek. "Christ! Warn a guy would ya?!" Derek only arches an eyebrow and stays quiet while Stiles collects himself. It involves a lot of dramatic gasping and clinging to the doorframe, apparently.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Don't you have school?" Derek finally asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Yes," Stiles says. "But my best friend was just turned into a werewolf, hunters are in town, and my baby brother's bio-dad has finally shown up. This is a lot more important than listening to Coach ramble nonsense at us at ass o'clock in the morning."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek feels like he should have a lot more to say to that than "What."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Real life drama," Stiles says, enunciating his words obnoxiously. "Way more important than school learning that I won't even need once I graduate. Also I still need to talk to you about Bailey where my dad has no chance of overhearing."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I'm not talking to you about your brother," Derek says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Yes, you are," Stiles says. He pushes himself off the doorway and walks right up into Derek's space. Derek glares at him, but Stiles doesn't back down, though he doesn't look Derek in the eye. "I've always known that Bailey was adopted, even before I found out about the werewolf thing."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"How old were you?" Derek asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"10, nearly 11," Stiles answers. "I knew where babies came from by then. I knew it was a lot more complicated than just going to a hospital and coming home with a baby. My mother hadn't been pregnant, so I knew that something was up." Stiles looks up and locks gazes with Derek. Derek finds that he can't make himself look away, no matter how much he wants to. Stiles' eyes are almost blazing and it feels like he's staring directly into Derek's soul.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Ever since I found out what him being adopted meant, I was always afraid that his bio-parents would show up one day and take him away from us," Stiles says. "Dad always said that that couldn't happen, but I've read things on the internet. I know it's possible. And now here you are, back in town. I don't know the whole story, and I don't wanna keep you from your kid or anything. But I don't want you to just take him."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I don't plan on taking him," Derek says. Now he looks away. "He seems happy. Well-adjusted. You and your parents did that; I didn't have anything to do with it. That's all I ever wanted for him, really. I can't give him those things. All I'll do is... ruin him. He's better off staying with your family. I won't argue against that." Stiles doesn't say anything to that and Derek only looks up when he hears rustling noises. Stiles is taking something out of the pocket of his hoodie and handing it to Derek.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>It's a small folding picture frame. Derek doesn't reach for it, and Stiles pokes it into Derek's arm until he finally takes it away from him. He glares at Stiles, who only offers him a false-innocent grin. Derek looks down and opens the picture frame. On one side is, what must be, a fairly recent picture of Bailey. He's smiling widely at the camera and has a teddy-bear squished under each arm. On the other side is Bailey as an infant, chubby-cheeked and staring solemnly at the camera.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>In both photos Derek can see the familial resemblance. Bailey looks nearly all Hale, there's very little Argent in him. He feels a lump rise in his throat and the backs of his eyes burn. He clenches his jaw to keep his face from changing expression. He wants to say something, but he's afraid of what will come out of his mouth so he gives Stiles a nod. Stiles only nods back, like he gets it. Then he heaves a huge sigh and claps his hands together.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"So, Allison Argent," he says. "We may have a problem with that."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Why." The new subject brings with it an abrupt tonal shift and Derek manages to push his emotions down. He shuts the picture frame and shoves it in his jacket pocket.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Scott's decided that he's in love with her," Stiles says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"What? I thought they just got into town?" Derek asks. "Exactly how long has she been here?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Since, like, yesterday?" Stiles says. "They seriously only just met, but Scott says that she's the one." Derek resists the urge to slap a hand over his face. Because of course, <em>of course</em>. He stares Stiles down.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"What does she know about werewolves and hunting?" He asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"No idea," Stiles says. "Scott says that he doesn't think she knows anything. But, and I seriously love the guy like he's my own brother, he's not exactly that sharpest crayon in the box."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Bring him straight to your house after school," Derek says. "I'll meet you both there." He whirls on his heels and stomps over to his car and gets in.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Wha- oh, okay then." He listens to Stiles muttering to himself as he starts the car and peels out.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>***</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Derek doesn't know what face he's making when he enters the police station, but the woman manning the front desk sure doesn't look too excited to see him. Actually she looks mildly terrified, especially when Derek slams both hands on the desk and glares at her.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I need to speak with the sheriff," he says. "Now." The woman looks down at something on her desk and then back to Derek.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"He's on a call right now," she says. "You're going to have to wait out here." Derek's only response is to glare harder at her. She doesn't stop looking scared of him, but she doesn't back down either. A policewoman walks by and eyes Derek; Derek ignores her.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>He's debating on whether or not he should just walk to the sheriff's office regardless, when the man himself appears.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Derek?" Stilinski is shrugging into his jacket, looking like he's on his way out. "I wasn't expecting you today. Did something happen?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Not yet," Derek says. He eyes the woman from the front desk who's watching this whole exchange. "I need to talk to you." Stilinski finishes putting on his jacket, giving Derek a once-over as he does. He squints a bit, then shakes his head with a sigh.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Come on, I have to go out on a call," he says. "We'll talk in the car. Did you drive here?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Yeah," Derek says.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"We'll come back for your car later," Stilinski says. He leads the way out of the station and over to his cruiser. Stilinski walks around to the driver's side while motioning for Derek to get in on the passenger side. Derek does so and waits until Stilinski is on the road before he starts talking.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Scott needs to keep away from the Argents," he says, not looking away from the windshield.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"The hunters?" Stilinski asks. "Yeah, I can agree with that."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Chris Argent's daughter," Derek says. "She goes to school with Stiles and Scott. Stiles says that Scott says he's in love with her."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Stiles never mentioned that to me," Stilinski says. Derek shrugs. "Do you really think that Chris' daughter is going to do anything? She's only a teenager; I can't imagine she's involved."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I don't know much about how the Argents train their hunters," Derek says. "But I do know that they aren't above using seduction and manipulation to get the job done. Better safe than sorry."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"If you say so," Stilinski says. "I'll talk to Melissa about it." Derek nods. He takes stock of the surroundings outside the cruiser. They're driving further away from the town and towards the more wooded areas of Beacon Hills.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Where are we going?" He asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"The preserve," Stilinski says. "Someone called in two dead bodies."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Were they mauled?" Derek asks.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"Burned to death," Stilinski answers.</p>
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